CASE 20 Northeast Greenland
Report of the project:
Between 14th of July and 10th of August 2018, the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) carried out the terrestrial geoscientific expedition CASE 20 to the farthest NE of Greenland. Eight scientists from BGR, the University of Bremen (Germany) and the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS Longyearbyen, Norway) were involved in the field studies. The geological fieldwork and airborne aeromagnetic survey were carried out with the help of a helicopter and the support of the Danish military and research station Station Nord/Villum Research Station.
Working area CASE 20 (red box)
Source: BGR
Major goal of the geoscientific fieldwork was to investigate the uplift history of NE Greenland, the sedimentology, stratigraphy and age of approximately 65 to 45 million years of sedimentary deposits and coal seams, and the age determination of deformational structures along the margin of NE Greenland towards the North Atlantic Ocean. It has been suggested that Svalbard was very closely located to North Greenland during this time. Therefore, a precise age determination of the sedimentary rocks is of major importance. This will help to understand and reconstruct the timing and processes related to the separation of both areas, the opening of the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and the drift of Svalbard to its present position
Field work during CASE 20
Source: BGR
The geological fieldwork was accompanied by an airborne aeromagnetic survey measuring the local magnetic fields and characteristics across the geological study areas. Overall, 6,300 km of flight lines were measured. Aeromagnetic surveys like this are used to trace known and exposed geological units and structures into areas, which are covered by glaciers, lakes and waters of the oceans. These observations were used to get more information about the architecture and structure of the continental margin of NE Greenland.
Approaching the next outcrops
Source: BGR
The terrestrial fieldwork of CASE 20 was combined with seismic offshore investigations of the marine BGR expedition „Greenmate“ with the German research icebreaker Polarstern in Wandel Sea and Greenland Sea north and east of the CASE 20 study area. They were directly related to past and planned CASE expeditions to Svalbard and the Canadian Arctic.